Change Agent: Senator Michael Johnston

Change Agent: Senator Michael Johnston

Was named one of the seven most powerful educators in the US by Forbes Magazine and was selected as an educational advisor to the President during his 2008 campaign. Sen. Johnston represents Northeast Denver in the state legislature and relentlessly advocates for Colorado students by sponsoring bills such as ASSET, the READ Act and SB-191, which overhauled teacher evaluation and tenure in the state. He also spent six years as a principal and two years teaching high school English in the Mississippi Delta.

“DU gave me the opportunity to be both a practitioner and a policy maker, providing a rare opportunity to problem solve education’s most vexing challenges alongside a cohort of committed and courageous leaders. Rather than purely academic exercises, every part of the experience was geared towards how to lead transformative schools.”